For those of you who heard Bettye LaVette at the Inaugural Concert and are craving more (which is the most rational response), here's a clip of her singing her signature tune "Let Me Down Easy." Until recently, Bettye's been one of the under-recognized giants of sixties R&B. A flicker of memory was kept alive through Britain's "Northern soul" scene - and in the hearts of fans - until she had a small revival when Joe Henry produced a comeback album in 2005.
I don't know what confluence of just forces led to her invitation to perform in Washington, but they warrant an invocation all their own.
Arthur Alexander enjoyed a small revival, too, before his death. (I wrote about the art and science of Alexander for 3 Quarks Daily.) But for every soul artist that gets a second chance, as with the near-miraculous resurrection of Howard Tate, dozens more remain in undeserved obscurity. If I could green-light an album, I'd cut one today on Tami Lynn.
Bettye's DC appearance brought back memories for my friend Michael Lally, who worked with her in a Carolina club in the early sixties. And her warm collaboration with Jon Bon Jovi brought back memories of being 13 years old and reading that the sponsors of Petula Clark's TV show wanted to cut a shot of her touching Harry Belafonte during a duet. Apparently interracial contact brought up thoughts of "miscegenation" back then.
Forty years later the President and First Lady danced with a male and female soldier at the Commander-in-Chief's Ball.
Bettye, like any great duet singer, read every emotional nuance in her partner's performance. Where some people try to outshine the other singer, she was supportive. I especially enjoyed the warmth in her eyes and gestures when Bon Jovi echoed Sam Cooke's phrasing, as in the words "I know ..."
At the New Yorker, David Remnick has posted his own notes on the music of the Inauguration. Remnick (who I'm told began his journalism career under the same English teacher that encouraged me, Jim Downs) had the good fortune to hear 83-year-old Roy Haynes play drums on a Monk tune. Roy Haynes! Talk about history ... Haynes played with Lester Young, for God's sake! I think he also worked with my bass teacher, Jimmy Garrison. I know he worked with Reggie Workman, who was John Coltrane's other bassist.
Remnick's piece is worth a read. My other notes (scribbles, really, if you can "scribble" on a laptop) on the Inauguration's music are here. And to close the festivities, we reprise Coco Tea's reggae praise song "Barack Obama," which we first featured a few months ago:
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